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The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns yesterday's attack on Ghulam Mohammad Sofi, a prominent editor in Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir State. Two young men entered the offices of Sofi, editor of the popular Urdu-language daily Srinagar Times, at about 6:30 p.m. yesterday and opened fire. Sofi's bodyguard attempted to block the assailant and was shot in the...

On 9 September 2002, RSF denounced India's formal accusation of "military espionage" against journalist Iftikhar Gilani. Gilani is the New Delhi bureau chief for the "Kashmir Times" and a correspondent for the Pakistani daily "The Nation". "The charge of spying for a foreign power is a big favourite of governments trying to silence or intimidate journalists who are critical," said RSF Secretary...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is shocked by the recent attack on the office of the Tamil-language newspaper Dinamalar in Thanjavur, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. On the afternoon of July 30, about six people armed with wood sticks charged into the Dinamalar office and began destroying equipment and furniture. They assaulted employees who attempted to stop them...

Journalist Kumar Badal, of the investigative website Tehelka.com, has gone on a hunger strike to protest his continued imprisonment. Badar has been detained for more than one month. On 16 August 2002, RSF joined those in India who are speaking out against the government's policy of intimidating the investigative press. In a letter to Interior Minister Lal Krishna Advani, RSF Secretary-General...

Journalist Iftikhar Gilani, the Kashmir Times' correspondent in New Delhi, remains imprisoned after Judge Sangeeta Dhingra Shehgal on 31 July postponed until 8 August consideration of his request to be released on bail. His detention was criticized by the Press Council of India two days before this decision. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières - RSF) called today on US secretary...

This is yet another attempt to occupy the advertisers' mindspace. English daily Hindustan Times (HT) and business newspaper Business Standard (BS) have forged a strategic alliance to jointly promote display (all corporate and premium product advertising), appointments and financial category advertisements. With equally potent combinations present in the market - in the form of The Times Of India...

On 11 July 2002, police in the Indian capital of New Delhi took four Nepalese citizens into custody, including three journalists, on charges of assisting Maoist rebels. According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report, those arrested include journalists working for "Nepali Awaj" ("Voice of the Nepalese") newspaper, which is published in New Delhi. The arrested journalists are Parth Chhetri...

A court in Saharanpur (state of Uttar Pradesh) decided, on 4 July, to imprison Kumar Badal, a reporter with the on-line newspaper Tehelka.com. A hearing is to be held with Badal on 5 July in a poaching case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accused Badal of asking poachers to kill wild animals in a national park. The site's managers have denounced this imprisonment, which, according to...

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by today's attack on Shahid Rashid, editor of the Urdu-language daily State Reporter. Rashid was shot this morning by masked gunmen as he rode his scooter to the newspaper office in the Chanapora area of Srinagar, the summer capital of India's Jammu and Kashmir State. Both Pakistan and India claim the disputed territory of Kashmir for their own...

It's been called an industry standard, the norm, an average and a rule of thumb. It's also been called a myth, folklore and flat-out wrong. Yet it's often cited--even if it's being derided--and widely known by most in the newspaper business. What is it? The infamous staffing benchmark that says a paper should have one newsroom employee for every 1,000 in circulation. Most of you know of it. In my...